Variable file option in packer

[Sandeep Sharma]

Hi

I have three aws accounts so trying to use variable file for AMI permission. 

variables.json

{

"ami_users" : ["1111111111111", "222222222222", "333333333333"],

"ami_regions": ["us-east-1", "eu-west-1"]

}

]# packer build -var-file=variables.json /tmp/test.json

invalid value "variables.json" for flag -var-file: Error reading variables in 'variables.json': json: cannot unmarshal array into Go value of type string

Is this correct?

Regards

Sandeep Sharma

[Bad Santa]

I also have this issue. Were you able to resolve it?

[Rickard von Essen]

Variables should always be strings. Array type options which gets a variable splits them on comma. You variables.json should be:

{

  "ami_users" : "1111111111111,222222222222,333333333333",

  "ami_regions": "us-east-1,eu-west-1"

}

And in your packer template you use them like this:

{

  "variables": {

    "ami_users": null,

    "ami_regions": null

  },

  "builders": [

    {

       "type": "amazon-ebs",

       "ami_users": "{{ user `ami_users` }}"

     }

  ]

See

https://www.packer.io/docs/templates/user-variables.html#using-array-values

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[Todd Foley]

what happens when you have a nested comma? 

example: 

{
  "variables": {
    "changes": "CMD [\"/bar\"],ENTRYPOINT [\"/foo\",\"--\"]"
  },

  "builders": [
    {
      "type": "docker",
      "image": "ubuntu:16.04",
      "run_command": ["-d", "{{.Image}}"],
      "changes":      "{{ user `changes`}}",
      "commit": true
    }
  ],
  "post-processors": [
    [
      {
        "type": "docker-tag",
        "repository": "my/ubuntu",
        "tag": "16.04"
      }
    ]
  ]
}

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[Rickard von Essen]

I don't that will work, it will split on all commas. 

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[JP Bourget]

This happened to me and it was because for a var-file you don't need the "variables": {... 

just open and close { }... 

so {

    "var1": "value"

     }

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